The Hunt Trilogy, Part 1: Aethic
by Deskra
Summary: Life is good for Krystal, her home is as quiet as ever without the politics of the big city, until one day she sees her world slowly fall apart and witnesses the death of not only her family but everything she knew about her home.  Read and review please
1. Chiso

Music for this chapter: East Wes by Eric Johnson

Note that each chapter I assign a soundtrack like a songfiction. Listen to it before, after, or while you read it, whatever works for you. I consider this whole story, in fact, a screen play of any sort.

A small warning, heavy violence in later chapters.

Yes, similarities to "Avatar" but I refer you to my agent, KrzyKrn, who will confirm for you that I have started this before James Cameron's movie came out. In fact, the only reason for this to come out is because I need a project to fill my time and Krzy edged me, or partially inspired me to write this again.

* * *

Hyper sleep isn't the best sleep you could get, but waking up is the best part. Like you've just experienced the best sleep you've ever had. All traces of fatigue are gone, you feel like you could run a marathon, or maybe that because when you wake up, the ship is just starting to rotate and give you gravity, and then you have to take the longest piss in your entire life.

Rylin, exiting the large hyper sleep apparatus, slowly made his way around the sleep chamber to the restrooms on the opposite side. When he was finished, he floated down the hallway to the next station in the ship

He stopped to look outside the window of the small connection tube that tethered the stations together. Outside, a large nebula floated next to the star, engulfing the system, giving off a purplish smoke with pillars rising from its base, then curving inwards towards each other in a spiral, the sun was tinted, just a bit, but not enough to create a deep purple shade. Two large planets, un-inhabitable not only because of the thin and toxic atmosphere, but also because the mass created a gravity strong enough to crush bones, floated nearby in slow orbits around the sun. On the other side of the small compartment of the ship, he floated to the other window; the planet Chiso334, in a lush, green glow with a small ring of meteors, silently floating in its orbit. Also occupying the meteors space were two moons: a small, black, charred moon left over after an impact with a nearby planet and then getting caught in Chiso's orbit, and a larger, more lustrous moon, abundant in jewels and resources. It shone with all different shades of blue, purple, and white. Below the entire system sat on a flat, plain like nebula, adding color to the entire thing, hues of yellow and slight shades of purple, and several bright stars shone in the far distance with glares like crosses, adding more light, a breathtaking spectacle.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the bright light that reflected from the planet, nearly blinding him.

He was small, built, and skinny; well, almost. He had short cropped, messy black hair with green eyes and a square face that he always kept shaved clean. The rest of the crew always said he was the quiet one. Taking on the name 'Mouse,' or the more popular name from his instructor at the academy…

"Yo, princess, let's go, we don't have all day," came Aetyn from behind Rylin, waiting impatiently. He was the team's science junky, blonde with a heavy build, he was the leader, so to speak, his real profession before taking this job was instructor at the Air Force Academy. Behind him was Dr. Klein, the teams' medic and surgeon. He had dirty grey hair with brown eyes, somewhere in his late forties, he was the wise one, always just as quiet as Rylin, but he spoke his mind when needed. Rylin lifted himself off the window with a shove and then, using the rails on the walls, made his way into the storage station.

Already in the station were the two security personnel, Cane and Rila, and another science buff, Tiana, who by now already had her large headphones over her short hair. Everyone knew her as the eccentric one, and she was also the first one to ever greet him when he came aboard, they became friends in no time. Tiana was in her mid twenties, just above Rylin in age, with dark brown hair, boyish face, and a medium build. They were both, however, students in Aetyn's classes at the Air Force Academy.

Cane was your typical action movie solder; heavy toned muscles with shaved hair and brown eyes. Rila also had the tone muscles and also with short cropped messy hair style that wouldn't get in her eyes underneath a helmet.

Rylin opened his locker, careful not to let anything spill out. The station was just at it's warm up in spinning, so he was weighted down, but objects around him still floated like half inflated balloons. They said it would feel weird, the adaptive gravity made you think that your weak muscles could make you walk fully, but in reality, it was only spinning enough so that you could walk. In a couple days, the station would be at full gravity and everything in his body would be in check.

Stretching his legs, he gathered his stuff and hit the showers.

Breakfast was simple, military MRE's, only a little better quality because of the available facilities. They weren't out in the field…yet.

"You know our job," Dr. Klien, the eldest of them all, said while taking a bite, "The Corps want us to just scout it out. I sent out a probe before breakfast to check the atmosphere, check for life, and, if possible, see if intelligent life exists, other than for valuable resources. The state still needs enough to fill their quota for next month, forty billion new families this last year alone."

"Means more resources, same old song and dance, why can't we just get more soldiers instead of civilians?" replied Aetyin.

"Because, we're not free," said Rila," The Corp doesn't just hire us out for a bag of chips and a gun."

"That's why they also train scientists to handle a gun too," mumbled Tiana with half a headphone on, then taking a bite of the spaghetti.

"Right, all bitching aside, I got the mobile station ready to go, all we need is to equip and set off after we get the readings from the probe. Then we set out, scout the area, and wait for command to arrive," said Aetyn, "Remember, study, scope, then take off to the next planet. We grow by the thousands every day. We can't afford to delay."

"Package, docking now," the intercom screeched with with Dr. Klein's heavy, booming voice, "Coming through the airlock."

"Let's go people, can't wait up forever, especially you, princess."

Rylin cursed under his breath, then got up from his little R&R in the corner, sitting on crates and reading a magazine.

The Hangar housed two ships, one with the mobile living quarters docked underneath it, the other with a SUV with a turret for close encounters.

Four of them, he, two soldiers, and Aetyn, ran to the air lock.

With a hiss, the doors opened from the door, imbedded into the floor. A platform rose up with a large box, with six boosters on it, and a magnetized clamp for docking to ships.

"Let's see what command got us for house warming gifts…"

Aetyin took a plasma wielder and mask to begin working on the box. When the side opened with a clank of metal on metal, several small, cardboard boxes fell out.

Just like Christmas, the solders started ripping at the boxes as fast as they could.

"M20A3 with red dot sight and grenade launcher, not bad," Cain said, unwrapping a large rifle from its bubble wrap packaging, "Not bad at all, SCAR IV works just fine..."

Rila took out one of the longer boxes and ripped it open, revealing a large sniper rifle.

"What the hell does command think we're gonna do with this? Assassinate someone?"

"No, but what you could do is go out and shoot some birds for food, if it doesn't make them explode like balloons," Came Aetyn, then boomed a large hearty laugh, then went to unpacking one of the four turrets.

Fun fact: did you know that in the air force, you did get weapons training? Even if you take a degree in first encounter/diplomatic solutions/jurisprudence.

Even Rylin was surprised at that the first time he enlisted.

This would be his first FE/DS mission. In the past, all he had was Diplomatic Solutions experience, being an apprentice to the actual person who solved a minor war. Other than that, he was fresh out of the academy. The only reason why he was out here was because he used to be Aetyn's student in the FE class.

He walked through the hallways, and then turned at a door. Inserting his key card, it gave a small whir and beep, then clack, and it was open. With a loud click, he turned on the lights to the weapons station.

What to get…

Simple assault rifle? CQB? He didn't know.

"Try the G38K, works best in the environment kid," came Aetyn's voice, "Can't go losing another one to some wild animal."

Aetyn tossed a weapon at him.

"Throw a red dot on top of the pre-installed thermal sight and a long range bio sensor on the bottom rail and you're pretty much set to go, I call it the scouts assistant."

He nodded, "What happened to the last guy?"

"Got stupid, split off with the others, then got rammed by some bull out in the middle of nowhere," a small silence, then, "I'm telling you kid, 'gotta keep your wits about you, no mistakes, no curiosity, that's what the science buffs are there for."

"Right…" Rylin nodded, the last end of the word fading off into silence, filled with the large clicks of weapon tinkering, dropping of hex wrenches. He clipped the red dot sight on top of the scope and then slid the large tube like bio-sensor under the barrel and loaded several clips with ammo. Then he threw the now enlarged weapon into a box with his name on it, along with a pistol that now carried a flashlight/laser attachment.

"Listen, Rylin, in this job, you have to be prepared for anything, some days, shit happens."

Two days later

Aetyn was reading off a chart, listing the important facts about the planet. Everyone was sharing their probe collected findings today.

"…sits in an important trade route between planets and systems in this area. So far we've hit one possible landing site. I've also gotten data on the dominant species, locals call the planet Cerinia," he picked up a large tablet on the table, the lights went dim and a hologram soon became the only light source in the room, "We've encountered a couple problems with our probe, including how to shield it from some of the wildlife. On the planet is a class five civilization, wheel, fire, and everything up to discovering an explosive resin," then images of a busy street, looking as if it was straight out of the renaissance, a normal street, several carts, and lots of different stalls on each side, rugs hung over the camera as the shot looked up from the ground, showed up on camera. There were people, but they weren't normal people. "Rylin, mind sharing?"

Remembering his public speaking classes, he walked up to the front of the room, nervously adjusting his collar, then speaking: "The microphone from the probes mini-cam also detects a language. Given the Ezeria Method and the statistic that sixty percent of languages follow the 'noun, adjective,' case, we've been able to collect fragments of data to piece together a simple language translator. But as we speak, the probe is collecting more data.

"Another thing we were able to probe out is the government system," more images, only inside what looked like a large dome, at least three to four hundred of the figures sat around it, the camera was peering through a top hole in the dome, "a democratic election system, all done by means of representatives. This, from what we can see," he pointed to one of the figures in the middle, "is a sort of mediator or leader, showing that they do have some experience."

"Right, thank you Rylin, what you got Doctor?"

"Plenty to keep me up for most of the night, looking through blood samples," Dr. Klein said, walking up, "We've encountered a slightly more complex species than us. The normal human body has somewhere around three hundred DNA connections. What we have here is somewhere between four and five hundred connections, although, maybe that's because they're humanoid." Then another image came up, three different figures, all standing by a wall, dressed in bright clothes, again, looking like something out of the renaissance. A silence entered the room, everyone taking in what they appeared to be. Then Rila finally spoke up.

"You sure you're not looking at some cartoon, Doc?"

* * *

Read and Review if you could please...


	2. The Village of Juadalacara

Music: Venus Isle – Eric Johnson.

Read and review please.

* * *

This is the same dream I would have on extremely rare occasions. Only I wasn't able to finish it before.

I am standing in a desert, humid, the grains of sand stuck in my bare feet as I struggle. I cannot stand up; every step I take only results in the sinking of my feet into the grimy, dirty sand. I can only crawl. Behind me, a great beast chases me, trying to consume me. I cannot look back at it; not this time. If I do, I'll wake up screaming again. I will not lose this dream...not this time.

The beast roars at me, a metallic roar like gears in a blacksmiths shop, working the forge fire. When the roar deafens me, I also feel the warmth of air on my back: the kiss of the tips of fire.

We run together in the desert, until the beast seems to give up, and dives into the sand.

I can finally control my feet. The sand feels more packed, more stable.

The ground quakes for the briefest period of time, then the beast appears before me. Its eyes grow red, glowing like jewels in front of a fire. The body is stone with intricate carvings and runes that glow a hot blue. I wait; wait to be consumed.

Instead, I find myself suddenly surrounded by a black liquid, it feels like honey. The sand below me hardens and I am lifted off the ground to confront the beast, but the beast avoids me altogether.

My arms are picked up by the oozing black liquid, I find out I can control it!

I fling a piece of ooze at the beast. Part of it gets caught in the jeweled eye. It groans in pain as it tries to fight back. Every bash it takes at the pillar I stand upon only results in its own demise. Soon, I engulf the beast: head and all.

Then the ooze turns back into sand, and I am soon on the desert floor again, safe.

I turn to walk away from the battle field when I hear a sharp whining noise, increasingly louder, and increasing in pitch.

Something collides with me.

It only feels like a punch in the back below my shoulders. But I feel my stomach beneath my tunic: blood of an exit wound. An arrow? No, no arrow can make that noise.

I feel weak somehow, blood continues pouring down my stomach. I'm back on the ground, my face to the dry sand, and the world turns dark…

* * *

…And up I was, gasping for breath, barely making any sense of what just happened. It feels like I've been sleeping for a while.

Two more beds fill the room of the log cabin, both already empty and neatly made. The window beside my bed fills the room with light and cool air. Spring is soon to come.

Morning Prayer is to be recited, holding the book to the small wooden table on my left: O Lord! I sleep at thy command and wake at thy command; Thou art Lord of all things. This day, Lord, I thank you for.

I finish, and my mother walks into our room.

"Your little sister was worried sick about you. She said she thinks you had a nightmare last night again. Do you need to see a _Reltfule_ Krystal?" She looks at me, giving me a half worried look with her soft face and deep rich, feminine voice.

"No, mother, I'm fine. Scyri's intuition isn't fully matured, you know these things…"

"Well get up anyway, she's sick again, and your father is off to fix the carriage for your trip tomorrow. I need you to run to Azeria's store to pick up more Rike root," and she leaves.

When she does, I fall back onto the pillow on my bed, rest for a bit. Soaking in the morning sunlight through the open windows.

Spring is near.

_Get up, the morning is wasting away…_

_

* * *

_

"Mornin'" I said, entering the main room. It was a small room that accompanied seats and chairs, along with a fireplace in one end, and a set of cooking appliances, including an indoor clay stove and a table to eat. All with an open sun-light in the roof.

My mother set a plate on the wood table, I sat down, an _acche _soup, I downed it in no time, the liquid warm, smooth, and refreshing.

"Now could you go to Azeria's shop please and get some more Rike root for Scyri?"

My house sits a while outside of our main village: a small village but also the only village that counts as the capital in this political region. The region itself sits out in the woods in the middle of the rolling hills. Although, we do get plenty travelers going to either the great bowl that sits beyond this region or to the monasteries that sit in the Great White Mountains to the farther west. Beyond that are the wastes - a great desert containing a few ruins here and there - but mostly caravans travel to the western shores.

A pack on my shoulder, I walked into the village. Kids ran past me as I started to hear the call for the storyteller to come out. A coin from each and they would be entertained by him. My little sister would usually be among the crowd, but today, she was too sick to leave the latrine. As for my brother, who knew where he was.

A seller offered me a piece of his fresh baked bread, I spent a little of my money, a gift for my sister when I got home.

"I'll wrap that in a cloth for ya', just tell your father I said hello," the elder man said.

I nodded, then handed him three coins: one gold, two silver - one silver for a tip.

I was on my way to Azeria's when I recognized the storyteller's tale.

"Here's a tale that goes back to my childhood," he said with a grainy voice, "If you would all just calm down, I'll begin it for you. Even ask your parents," he chuckled, "I'm sure I also told them this one too."

* * *

_A very long time ago, before the 10 main tribes banded together, before the tribes maybe even, there were two brothers. They lived in the bowl, at the edge of the White Mountains at the side of a stream. Every spring items, sometimes of wealth, would wash down the river; where they would collect them and then sell them to travelers._

_One spring, on a spring much like this, they were out with their sacks, searching for items of worth, but that day, they found nothing._

_The next day, they went out looking again, but to no success._

_The third day one of the brothers said that if this day was also fruitless then they would sell the cottage and the items they kept and move to a settlement or move in with gypsies._

_They were out by the river again when one strayed off the path they took along the river. He was never noticed missing by the first brother._

_The first brother finally noticed that he was missing and went back to look for him._

_When he found him he was not alone...he was with a creature; a being not of our world. A being of great beauty: an angel, some say._

_The angel was hurt, limping, wounded._

_The brothers took it back to the cottage, where they spent the days they could've used to search for their riches to help heal the angel._

_On the third day the angel spent with them, the wounds were healed. It got up off the bed they let it use and it walked out of the front door without speaking._

_The two brothers rushed after it, but when they tried to follow it out the door, it was gone._

_In front of the door was a small orb made up of shapes all the same: 5 sides on each shape. It was a glass case that kept a white liquid inside it. The liquid shone brightly on its own. A note on the side indicated in sharp, neat handwriting that it was supposed to be a star in the sky but instead become a gift that would be looked after by the brothers, a priceless value attached to it. The two brothers were talking what they should do with it: display it, hide it, bury it, sell it._

_The first did say sell it but the other said that it was priceless. A star of the sky was of no value in their world._

_The two fought over it, until the second silenced the first. In his shame, he fled into the mountains, never to be heard from again. Some say he did bury it somewhere, others say he passed it onto his son, and his son to his son, and then hundreds or even thousands of generations afterward. To this day, the star of the sky on Cerinia was never found; becoming nothing more than only a legend._

_

* * *

_

"Another! Please?" A first child said.

"Yes, please?" A second said.

The man laughed, "Later, listen for the drum beats, and I will tell you a story."

In a chorus of moans and groans, the children dispersed, and the old man got up on his cane and looked at Krystal.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, are you about to start your apprenticeship? Yes?"

"Yes, actually, I'd prefer to be under Azeria, but my father insists I must be a diplomat like him."

"Makes sense, fighting, in a way, runs in your family," he laughed, "Child, you've grown a bit. It seemed like last year I was telling you the same story."

"It seemed so for me as well, and it's never changed I see."

"No, of course not, a good storyteller always tells the story exactly the same, every time. Which is why when I find my apprentice, I have to get one that has a sharp blade."

"Well, I'm off to see Azeria, Scyri's fallen ill again. Have you seen Armaeth anywhere?"

"That little rascal? Doesn't your mother keep track of her children?"

"No, she doesn't," I laughed, "Well, I'll see you when I get back from Rilias."

"Yes, good to know you've started your apprenticeship with your father. Endless teaching never hurt anyone. Have a good day Krystal, may the light guide your path!"

"Thank you!" I said, waving back to him and walking down the main road leading into our village. I breathed a nice whiff of fresh air, the trees smelled nice and sweet beyond the shops.

Life is grand here; the small village seemed to be untouched by all the events in the outside world, as if the pine covered hills themselves shielded the worries of the outside from them. Life can go by so quickly around here.

There's a shop on the center court of the market, a nice shop, filled with vials and smells that usually change day to day. Once in a while, you could get a nice whiff of something delicious, the next day it would be utterly putrid. I'd spend most of my free time here in Azeria's shop. He already had an apprentice, a nice young man about my age, but a little older. He was the shop keeper, but Azeria himself was the cook.

I entered between the sheets covering the door to the store, then the smell of several different herbs filled my nose, some I could name just from the sweet scent, others that I could not determine. The store was darkly lit, a single counter on the back edge with bottles neatly stacked and labeled with different powders, plants, leaves, and roots of all kinds. Behind it you could see a fire with a pot, boiling the newest brew.

"Hello Izre, is Azeria in today?"

The keeper looked up from a sheet of paper, a memo of some sort, then spoke, "No, I'm sorry, he's out looking for some weird shrub in the gorge east of here, I could help you out."

"Rike root would be fine."

"Scyri still ill today?" He asked, turning to the shelf and finding the bottle with the sweet smelling fern clippings, "You know, Azeria himself could make a house call. I'm sure he could teach you a little more about the healing arts as well."

"No thank you, my father wouldn't like that very much."

He turned, finding the bottle and taking some out of it without letting the soil in the bottle escape, "Still thinks you should apprentice as a diplomat, is he? When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow," I said, dropping two coins on the counter.

"Well, we'll miss you here, all of us, Azeria too," he replied, taking the coins and dropping them into the safe beneath the counter with a large *clink*.

* * *

"Everybody load up!" The doctor said, disassembling his weapon, stripping it piece by piece until the entire thing was packed into boxes, and then cramming them into his own personal crate where he would also put his belongings "The recon droid indicated a sharp drop in air pressure from what you're used to here, carry a breather until you adjust to the environment."

Another package went into his box, then was sealed with tape and packaging glue and then loaded onto the transport aircraft.

They would be packed for about a week of R&D until they were scheduled to ship out again to a new planet. Which meant he had a week to document, record, and gather as much data as possible.

"Load up kiddies, were off."

Rylin stepped up into the ship and took a seat. Beside him Tiana sat in her seat, strapped in, then took her giant headphones off.

"Regulations my ass, I just want to listen to music," she mumbled, then looked at Rylin, "You ready for your first mission? I remember mine, almost as if it were three weeks ago, but that's what Hypersleep does to ya' I guess."

"Kinda nervous," Rylin said, "Almost kinda sweating."

"Relax, it's all normal. Nervousness just means that you're still alive at least," she said, "It's how I felt on my first too, you'll be fine."

"I hope so."

* * *

To: Opening title music (I. E. opening credits and name card): Kings & Queens – 30 Seconds to Mars

* * *

I couldn't sleep for some reason, I was too anxious to even close my eyes. The big city would be my new home tomorrow, and for the next month as well.

It was late at night, if I'm caught, then my parents would kill me.

No biggie, it's just to my secret spot and back.

I slipped quietly out of my shared room with my siblings still asleep, Scyri still restless from illness. I don't know if she saw me, but it scared me.

"Where you going Krystal?" The small voice replied in the dark.

"Just for a walk, I'll be right back, don't worry," I said, walking over to her bed to give her a kiss on the forehead, then out the window to the small cliff our house sits beside. I slid down the rocks, careful not to make too much noise, and then started walking into the woods.

My natural night vision adjusted after a while, still night, still good.

It was about 10 minutes, then I reached the opening in the forest with the small abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere. I pulled out a chair and set it on the porch of the shack. Inside was just one large room with cupboards and a bed frame.

I sat there, listening to the night, the bugs chirping, the wind in the trees. Then the horizon caught my eye.

The yellow belt was back. A belt of yellow in the summer wrapped around the sky, a small light. If anyone was to see it, they were to go to the village center and then tradition said the first one there would bring luck to their family in all aspects of life for the rest of the year. A celebration in their name, and a feast.

If I ran back to the village for my name to be called my parents would kill me.

Oh well, another year, I'll do it next year.

I stared up at the sky again; something caught my eye.

A falling star, or so it looked, started to move slowly across the sky. No, it was too slow to be a falling star, instead it was something strange.

* * *

Rylin looked out of the window closest to him. The planet started to reflect the yellow nebula below it, then a bright crimson orange began to engulf the hull of the ship and he was unable to see the nebula.

"Were going to be landing on a canyon in some small mountains, about 2,000 miles above the planets sea level," Aetyin yelled to the crew in the back, "Hopefully that would allow you to adjust, going to sea level then maybe even exploring the even larger mountains on this continent."

The ship hit a slight bump, Rylin's hand was suddenly grabbed by Tiana's.

"Aint' Nothing like an awkward moment, huh Rylin?" She said. He quickly moved his hand and she laughed.


End file.
